I Rode Everything in Disney’s Animal Kingdom In UNDER 2 Hours — And You Can, Too

I’ve spent the last 5 years of my life going to Disney World almost every day, so I’ve learned a thing or two.

After a few attempts, I finally managed to ride everything in Disney World! It took strategy, luck, and some fast feet, but it all relied on starting strong in Animal Kingdom. I managed to ride every attraction there in under 2 hours, and so can you! I’m spilling my best tips right here.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a seriously underrated park! While it might not have the most attractions, it can see high wait times, and it has one of Disney World’s most popular rides, Flight of Passage.

If you’re trying to maximize your Disney day, whether it’s riding everything or just park hopping from Animal Kingdom to a second park, you’ll need to start early. There are 6 attractions in Animal Kingdom, but don’t let that fool you, you’ll need every second you can get in the park if you’re trying to get in and out. That means starting with early entry. 

On the day I rode every ride, Animal Kingdom opened at 8 AM to all of the guests, and early entry began at 7:30 AM. If you’re staying at a Disney World hotel like I was, you can utilize Early Entry at each park! Parking at the Disney parks opens an hour before the park does, and I was in line by 6:45 AM. (This might seem. extreme, but I wasn’t even at the front of the line!)

While almost everyone is going to head straight to Flight of Passage during these extra 30 minutes, I had a different strategy. I was headed straight to Na’vi River Journey, which is also located in Pandora. This ride can see high wait times because it’s fairly low capacity, so hitting it up first thing is important.

While I wasn’t the first person in line at security, I was the second person in line at Na’vi River Journey because so many people are headed for Flight of Passage, so we were on and off quickly. After finishing up on this slow-moving boat right through Pandora, I raced over to DinoLand U.S.A. to hop on Dinousaur. (Don’t worry, we’re coming back to Flight of Passage later.)

By the time I made it here, the ride was still only a 5-minute wait, which we were super relieved to see. DinoLand is going to be transforming into Pueblo Esperanza, so several of the attractions in this area have already closed, and Dinosaur can now see some high wait times as people try to hop on one more time before it closes in 2026. After I was successfully thrown back in time, almost eaten, and made it back with one iguanadon in tow, I headed over to Asia. 

This is where I used the single rider line to essentially walk onto Expedition Everest! Disney World doesn’t have a ton of single rider lines, but this one is a sure-fire way to cut down on your wait time. Your party will be split up, but it can also help you ride this popular ride with little to no wait. (I have seen it get pretty high at times, but it is still quicker than the standby queue.)

At this point, Kali River Rapids wasn’t open because it tends to open a bit later than the rest of the park at 9 AM. Because of that, I walked over to Kilimanjaro Safaris in Africa to swallow a 15-minute wait. This ride is roughly 20 minutes long and can see high wait times in the mornings because that is when the animals are most active, so I wasn’t so upset with the 15 minutes.

I hopped off of Kilimanjaro around 8:45, and while I could have gone to Kali after that, I know that the water ride can sometimes open 5 to 10 minutes after 9. I didn’t have time to waste, so this is where I finally headed back to Flight of Passage! To save time on Animal Kingdom’s ride, I utilized a Lightning Lane Single Pass.

Disney offers two different kinds of Lightning Lanes so you can pay to skip the lines at different attractions. Lighting Lane Single Pass gives you access to the most popular attraction at each park for a one-time fee, per person. Because Animal Kingdom has so few attractions right now, we find that Lightning Lane Multi Pass (which gives you access to a minimum of 3 attractions per day) isn’t worth your money and is better used in the other parks.

My Single Pass helped me skip a 50-minute wait, and then it was onto our final ride! One thing that seriously helped me when trying to navigate the parks was using the My Disney Experience app to show me the quickest way to get to each attraction. If you search the attraction you’re trying to get to on the app, you will see a button that says “get directions.” This saved me steps and time as I tried to do everything!

Finally, I hit up Kali River Rapids! This ride gets longer lines in the afternoon, so if you’re looking to avoid that, stopping by in the morning is the way to go. Just before 9:30, I hopped off the water ride and raced to continue the rest of my ride challenge at the other parks.

I managed to finish the entire park in less than 2 hours, so if you’re trying to maximize your time in Disney but don’t necessarily have 4 days for all four parks, this can be a great way to get your Animal Kingdom fix before heading to a different park for the rest of the day. It’s no joke trying to ride everything in Disney World, but starting off on the right foot in Animal Kingdom is the best beginning. As always, be sure to keep following AllEars for more Disney World tips and tricks!

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What is your favorite Animal Kingdom ride? Tell me in the comments! 

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